If you’ve spent just a few minutes trying to catch the more elusive members of Pokemon Go‘s eclectic catalogue of creatures over the last week or so, you’ll have no doubt recognized that developer Niantic has completely removed the ‘Steps’ system that helps players to gauge how far away or close any nearby Pokemon are from your current location.
Fan reaction to the changes hasn’t exactly been stellar, but it appears that a recent patch for the popular mobile title has introduced a new ‘Nearby Pokemon’ mechanic that aims to replace its now-defunct predecessor. Only a certain “subset of users” will have access to the new feature (pictured above) for now in an effort to test the variation, but if successful, it could become a permanent feature.
As well as the above, several miscellaneous changes have been introduced with the patch, including the ability to make a one-time change to your player nickname, but Niantic says you should “choose your new nickname wisely.”
- Added a dialog to remind Trainers that they should not play while traveling above a certain speed. Trainers must confirm they are not driving in order to continue playing.
- Made improvements to the accuracy of a curveball throw
- Fixed a bug that prevented “Nice,” “Great,” and “Excellent” Poké Ball throws from awarding the appropriate XP bonuses.
- Fixed achievements showing incorrect Medal icons.
- Enabled the ability for Trainers to change their nickname one time. Please choose your new nickname wisely.
- Resolved issues with the battery saver mode on iOS and re-enabled the feature.
- Added visuals of Team Leaders Candela, Blanche, and Spark.
- We’re currently testing a variation of the “Nearby Pokémon” feature with a subset of users. During this period you may see some variation in the nearby Pokémon UI.
- Minor text fixes
In related news, yet more new Pokemon have been revealed for this year’s 3DS entries, Sun and Moon. See here for all the details.
